Author: Susan Schmelzer

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March 9, 2018

Beware the Reform: Arts Nonprofits Brace for Impact of New Tax Bill

Congress hurriedly passed the new 429-page tax reform bill, with illegible, handwritten changes in the margins, for President Trump to sign on Christmas Eve.
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January 11, 2018

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Study Shows How Arts Fuel the Economy

Americans for the Arts (AFTA) has recently published its latest national economic impact research report, “Arts and Economic Prosperity 5” (AEP5), based on data collected directly from all 50 states, and regions and communities of all sizes.
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December 7, 2017

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: A Bright Future for the Liberal Arts

Illustration by Jason Needham As promised, this is in follow-up to my last column on the importance of employees with well-developed right brains (which control..
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September 15, 2017

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: A Right-Brain Celebration

I was privileged to be invited to the Hallmark Creative Leadership Symposium this spring at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
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May 4, 2017

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Who Would Steal the Arts?

Writing a column on public policy for a bi-monthly publication has its challenges. In today’s reality, one can’t wake up in the morning without a surprise, and simple conclusions can become obsolete overnight.
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April 4, 2017

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Our Venerable Academies: Studios Among the Showrooms

Any city known for its thriving arts is bound to accommodate and benefit from higher learning in the arts, but few cities are blessed with two such fine academies as the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and the Kansas City Art Institute.
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February 6, 2017

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Let’s Enhance Our Public Art Program

Like them or loathe them, it doesn’t much matter anymore. R.M. Fischer’s “Sky Stations,” soaring above Bartle Hall Convention Center after more than 20 years in place, are an inextricable part of Kansas City’s identity.
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November 10, 2016

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: Art and Literature Offer Election Season Therapy

Since this column is written two months in advance of publication, I feel safe in saying that, as you read it, we’ll have endured the most distasteful, degrading and vacuous campaign season most of us, having not been around for Jefferson vs. Adams in 1800, can recall.
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September 21, 2016

Susan Schmelzer on Arts Policy: When Times Were Good

The mid-1930s represents an odd historical peak in public support for arts in Missouri and Kansas; each of these legislatures commissioned elaborate murals for their respective capitol buildings.
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